Scryed Remix
by tomieharley
Summary: New chapter. Yep, chapter 2 is up! Finally! Cougar comes to Mimori's aid, but will it make things better or worst for Mimori? Especially when he gets caught in a lie. And what will Ryuhou have to say about all of this?
1. Out of Reach

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own S-Cry-ed or any of its characters. But we all know Mimori _OWNS_ Cougar.

Chapter 1: Out of Reach

Mimori Kiryu shivered in spite of her long-sleeves and coat. "It's so cold tonight,"she murmured more to herself than to her walking companion, the alter user Ryuhou Tairen. Looking around, however, no one else on the boardwalk appeared to be effected by the sudden drop in temperature, nor bothered by the frequent cool breezes.

Again, the wind blew loose strands of her ebony hair into her eyes, and again, she waved them away, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. _I wish I had brought my gloves. Ryuhou doesn't even seem bothered by it. Why am I the only the one that's cold? _As long as she could remember, she always hated being cold, and naturally, would look upon the approaching winter with great dread and sadness though she never knew why.

Cold.

_How that one word so easily summed up tonight, not to mention a certain person_, the young woman mused, watching her handsome but sullen-faced companion out of the corner of her eye.

In public, they resembled a typical couple out on a date, but as the old saying goes, appearances could be deceiving. _We may be walking side by side, but we couldn't be further apart_, she admitted, thinking back to their awkward dinner filled with polite and insipid conversation, most of which she tried in vain to keep going. Mimori had convinced herself that he was just as nervous as she was about being reunited again after seven years of separation. Unfortunately, this idea proved to be wrong. They finally fell into a mutual silence—Mimori having admitting defeat—that continued to stretch as they finished the main course and went on to their deserts.

But could she really say the same about Ryuhou?

If someone had asked her before tonight, she would have answered no. But now, after spending a few hours with him alone and away from HOLY, she could no longer deny the fact that their relationship was unlike their one seven years prior. She wasn't even sure they had a relationship any more, except that of co-workers, considering how neglectful he had been with her ever since her arrival at HOLY, his cool demeanor towards her holding up even outside HOLY's walls.

_It's just so confusing. How could someone change so much in just seven years, _she wondered, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth out of habit. With suspicious brown eyes, she regarded him thoughtfully, searching for the shy little boy she loved and unable to find him. It made her chest ache and her eyes burn with unshed tears.

When her long hair blew back into her face, she took the opportunity to inconspicuously wipe the tears out of her eyes. Mentally, an authoritative voice chided her for her childish behavior:

_Stupid! You don't know that for sure. If he hated you, he wouldn't have taken you out to dinner or brought you to this romantic spot, would he?_

_No. I guess not. _

_Well, then, suck it up and keep walking. He'll talk when he's ready._

Warmed by this faint spark of hope, Mimori continued her stroll with the green-haired alter user though her body grew more numb. She did her best to hide it as she stuffed her shaking hands into the pockets of her tan trench coat, clenching and unclenching them in safety.

_In the past, he would have taken my hand and rubbed it gently between his two hands, attempting to warm it up. I wonder if I should…I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I just…_

Mimori sighed softly, planting her right hand firmly back into the pocket. The last thing she wanted to do was give Ryuhou yet another reason to think of her as being weak. She already given him two good ones: she possessed no alter power and just a few days ago had been taken hostage by a HOLY prisoner and used to make his escape, placing her in the stereotypical position of a damsel in distress. There was nothing she could do about the first. The latter, however, could not be so easily shrugged off. Mainly due to the fact the prisoner escaped from his cell due to her aid, which Ryuhou fortunately knew nothing about.

_Very fortunate_, a very relieved Mimori acknowledged.

_Then again, what if he knows what I did, _she pondered, renewing the chewing on her bottom lip. _Maybe he's mad at me? But if this is true, why haven't I been arrested yet or why haven't I heard from my father? If he wanted me gone, surely he would use that information as blackmail. But Ryuhou would never do that to me. It wasn't in his nature to use dirty tactics._

And so, another theory shot down, which left her back at square one. _So what's going on?_!

She wanted to scream at him, but knew it would do no good, remembering how stubborn he really could be. It would be like talking to a brick wall. Irritated, Mimori balled up her fists while tears sprung back in her eyes. She wished now she never accepted his offer.

_Ryuhou, why did you want to see me tonight? _

As if hoping for an answer, Mimori glanced over at Ryuhou. With his lips set in a straight line, he appeared completely oblivious to his surroundings, his mind mulling over something, something important because of the tiny wrinkles between his brows. That familiar intense expression brought a faint smile to her lips.

_There you are._

Feeling more confident, she decided to end this silent treatment. She'd never been a patient girl, and she wasn't about to play into this little game of hide and seek anymore. So she stopped walking. Surprisingly, so did Ryuhou, who cocked an eyebrow at her in silent question.

Holding his red eyes with her brown, she told him flatly, "You can be a real bastard at times."

Stunned, Ryuhou said nothing as he watched her plop down on one of the stone steps, leading up to the boardwalk's upper level, before turning his back on her to face the calm ocean spread out before them. He folded his arms over his chest.

She stared at her entwined hands sitting in her lap. Without looking at him, Mimori asked, "Why did you really ask me out, Ryuhou?"

He never hesitated in replying. "I want you to cancel your trip tomorrow."

"I thought so," she lied. Her answer catching him off guard, caused him to turn and look at her. At first, she felt relieved about not being discovered until a flood of dread washed over her, sweeping the warm happy feeling instantly away. She knew now where this conversation was heading. She looked away so he couldn't see her roll her eyes at him. _Here we go again. _

"You don't have any idea what it is like out there. The word dangerous doesn't even begin to describe life in the Lost Ground."

Whether he meant to or not, his words hurt her. The way he said it made Mimori think of a teacher scolding a misbehaving child, which Mimori certainly was not. It really pissed her off when he treated her like a helpless child. So what if she didn't have an alter power? She could take care of herself just fine thank-you-very-much, Mister Ice Man.

"I'm _sure_ there must be some sick or injured people working in the redeveloping area," she retorted hotly jumping to her feet. "People HOLD or you yourself put into forced labor."

She hadn't meant to add the last part. It just kind of slipped out.

Nevertheless, she couldn't ignore the small bit of satisfaction she felt as she watched Ryuhou silently take in her words: his eyes widened for a moment and his mouth opened as if he were going to say something to her. But he didn't. Instead, he shut his mouth and turned once more away. He might as well have slapped her across the face.

She could almost picture the gap between them widening further apart.

"I'm sorry, Ryuhou," is what she wanted to say, but for some reason, the words refused to come out of her mouth. She went to stand beside him, holding onto the metal railing tightly. Never once did their eyes meet.

Instead, Mimori focused on the many twinkling dots of light in the dark cloudless sky. The same sky they use to look at as children. The same sky they stood under now as well as the people outside the walled city. "Do you honestly think there's any difference between those people and us?" she asked softly.

Without waiting for a reply, she continued on, "Well, there isn't. There's no difference whatsoever." Her grip tightened on the railing, her knuckles whitening.

_Ryuhou. Why can't you understand? I want to help you. I want to be near you like before. I want…I want…so many things. _She fought back a strong urge to touch the crystal pendant hanging around her neck, the same crystal Ryuhou had given to her when they first became friends.

"I can't just close my eyes. I want to do something to help those people."

This time Ryuhou was the one to surprise her when he began laughing. Mimori turned her head sharply to look at him, confused. "What's so funny?"

"People from the mainland always think that. But when you've been here for awhile you realize, doesn't work like that in the Lost Ground."

"Yes, that's convenient for you to say, but I don't think your ideas are any different from mine." With those final words, Mimori spun around intending to leave, but Ryuhou wasn't ready to let their argument end there. With uncanny speed equal to that of the alter user of Radical Good Speed, he grabbed her left wrist in an iron grip, forcing her to stop.

His hold on her wrist tightening slowly and painfully as he spoke, "That idealism, we all want it. But in order to get it ("Ryuhou," she whimpered.) sometimes we have to look the other way."

"Ryuhou," Mimori pleaded again, trying to pull her captured wrist free. "Please, you're hurting me."

Whether he heard her or not, Ryuhou continued to squeeze her wrist, causing Mimori's eyes to tear up. "You'll never be able to understand. Go back to the mainland, Miss Kiryu. You have no use here."

That's when she heard her wrist break, with a sickening 'pop.' An invisible fire suddenly engulfed the entire arm, her flesh feeling as if it were melting off her bones. Screaming, Mimori fell to her knees when her legs buckled beneath her, Ryuhou's grip instantly falling away. Panicked, she held her injured arm to her chest, while attempting to scoot away from him as fast as possible, unsure of what else to do.

Ryuhou appeared disorientated for a moment, blinking several times, like he was coming out of a trance. First, he stared down at her with wide frightened eyes, disbelieving what he saw, and next he studied his own hand, the same one that hurt her. His face paling while a mixture of emotions ran across his face.

"Miss Kir-Mimori, I…I didn't mean to," he stuttered, approaching her swiftly to offer assistance.

But before he could reach her, however, chaos broke out around her.

Suddenly, Straight Cougar, another HOLY officer, jumped in between them. Behind her, Mimori thought she heard Ryuhou's partner, Scheris Adjani, yelling for Cougar to wait.

_Why are they here?_

"I don't think so," Cougar said in a firm tone, throwing his right arm protectively out in front of Mimori, who still sat on the ground. "This date is officially over. NOW!"


	2. A Knight inPink Armor?

Disclaimer: I do not own S.Cry.ed and any of the S.Cry.ed characters. Why do you keep asking me this?

A/N: Sorry about the lateness of this update. It's been a crazy year. Hope you enjoy! If you have questions, praise, or suggestions, please review.

Chapter 2: A Knight in…Pink Armor?

Dumbstruck, Mimori opened her mouth to say something but just as soon closed it again when she realized she didn't know where to begin or to whom she should address first. Mimori then cautiously leaned over to sneak a peek at Ryuhou from behind Cougar's back and instantly regretted it.

_He looks like he's ready to kill someone. _

His handsome face was now warped with pale fury. He held his head high, with his jaw squared and jutting out; his eyes narrowed in suspicion burning in phoenix fire.

_It's the exact same look! The same look he has…when he faces the native alter Kazuma_, Mimori realized with a worried frown. She had seen it enough by now to know Ryuhou was ready to fight. As if she needed further proof, the jerking motions of his right hand caught her eye, drawing her attention down to it.

He balled it into a small fist, followed by the other.

_This is so bad_, Mimori thought as she set herself safely back behind Cougar. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the commotion. Sure enough, several couples were in the process of getting up and moving hurriedly away, hand-in-hand. The braver ones remained where they were but kept throwing curious looks over at them. Mister Cougar's sudden presence appeared to have set off a chemical reaction. Even if the other people on the boardwalk hadn't heard him, they apparently sensed the sudden shift in tonight's atmosphere. The words hanging in the night air just long enough to charge the molecules in it with tension and fear.

_And excitement as well,_ noted Mimori, spotting several teenage onlookers, leaning over the railing on the upper level, peering down at them and pointing. Goofy grins plastered on their young faces while talking excitedly to one another about something. _That something_, she miserably assumed, _was the chance to see a fight involving an alter user no less, considering how Cougar's standard purple and white HOLY uniform was such an obvious dead give away. _

Mimori knew what had to be done. It was a common scene found in any one of her romance novels she read late at night while in bed. The beautiful heroine, with tears flowing freely down her flushed cheeks, would step in-between the men (before or during their dual) and beg them to stop. Her legs, however, refused to obey her and she didn't know why. This was her big chance, after all to prove herself to Ryuhou.

_So why can't I move?_

Before she could sort out her thoughts and feelings, she heard Ryuhou's voice cut in to them; apparently he had recovered from the shock of the interruption, along with some of his composure resembling that of an emotionless robot. Only his voice betrayed him.

"Officer Cougar! Why are you here?" he demanded.

"Why, I've come to take Miss Minori ("Her name's Mimori," Ryuhou corrected for her, his red eyes narrowing into snakelike slits.) home of course, he replied simply, as if he hadn't been interrupted.

After a moment of hesitation, Ryuhou, forcing a small smile on, said through gritted teeth, "Is that so? How kind of you. But that won't be necessary. I'll take her back"— he moved towards them with his hand reaching out once again for her—"Miss Kir-

Cougar held up his hand to stop him, "Hold on there, Speedy."

A "Huh?" issued forth from the HOLY Captain who paused in mid-movement. "Officer, move out of my way."

"I don't think so," he answered, shaking his head from side to side.

"That's an order, Cougar! Stand down," Ryuhou commanded. "Miss Kiryu is not your concern."

Cougar pointed his finger at him like a gun. "That's where you're wrong, Ryuhou." He removed a pair of pink sunglasses from his coat pocket and put them on, all the while saying, "Well, you see, it's like this: I've got my own orders to follow, Ryuhou. Which means looking after our newest family member, Miss Min—

Again, Ryuhou broke in, yelling, "That's Mimori!" Realizing his mistake, he tried to take it back, "I mean, "Miss Kir—a faint blush creeping into his cheeks—"Just shut the hell up, Cougar!"

"Fine by me, I'm tired of wasting my time on you," he answered. "You're a hopeless cause anyway."

The two men glared hatefully at one another for what seemed like eternity to Mimori. She saw Ryuhou retreat a few steps back. Smirking, he called out, "I never figured you for the jealous type, Cougar."

Cougar shrugged the comment off, while a wide maniacal smile stretched across his face, as he looked down at his feet. "There's a lot you don't know about me." He tapped the pavement with the tips of his black boots several times. Fascinated, Mimori silently watched as a shimmering light crept up both his legs until they were completely engulfed in the weird fog. It cleared almost as fast as it had spread revealing pink armor latched onto them, all the way up to his knees. "Shall we dance?"

The guilt of her role in causing all of this surprised her, hitting her like a punch in the stomach and forcing all the air out of her lungs. She bowed her head letting her raven tresses hang like a curtain around her, shielding her pale face from prying eyes while she tried to catch her breath. For a while, she was able to forget about the hot pain in her arm. The guilt swelling up inside her replacing it when she imagined what the HOLY Commander, both Cougar and Ryuhou's boss, Martin Zigmarl would say if he could see them now. Seeing them here, like this, an outsider would never guess that they were both teammates employed by the same organization. Instead, they looked more like mortal enemies prepared to fight to the death—all because of _her_.

_What have I done?_ She jerked her head back up. By now, both men had their bodies positioned in fighting stances, each focused completely and solely on the other. Neither moved, nor spoke.

And then it happened. One minute, Cougar stood in front of her, and the next, he was gone.

Mimori hadn't even seen him move when he launched himself at Ryuhou. But suddenly, he was kneeling in front of the other man, and almost instantly, the HOLY Captain went flying up into the air. Blood spurting from his mouth as his head snapped back. Cougar then jumped up and kicked him in the center of his stomach, knocking him backwards several feet, a cloud of dirt rising up along his path until he skidded to a stop. Around them, people began to scream and scatter.

She heard one man yelling, "It's an alter user. Run for your lives! He'll kill us all!" But she couldn't tell if he meant Ryuhou or Cougar or both. Either way, Commander Zigmarl would be hearing about this tomorrow, and they would all be in trouble. _Cougar. You idiot!_

"Ryuhou!" a shout came from close behind Mimori.

Somewhere in her mind, she registered the voice to belonging to Scheris before the blue-haired alter user came to a sudden halt beside her. She had forgotten all about her. The young girl's face was flushed and she was panting heavily. She bent over clutching at both her bare knees. Like Cougar, she too was in uniform.

"Are you okay?" Mimori asked her.

Scheris's words came in-between short gasps, "Ryuhou…is…he…okay?"

Ignoring the familiar stab of jealousy, she turned away, back to Ryuhou's unmoving body. "I'm not sure." After a minute or so, however, she saw him sit up, shake his head, and take a swipe at his mouth with his coat sleeve.

She heaved an audible sigh of relief. "He hasn't gotten up yet, but he's moving."

Scheris coughed. "Thank goodness," she said softly, straightening up.

While Ryuhou struggled slowly to get to his feet, Cougar performed several amazing acrobatic back flips until he landed back in front of them in a crouch. This time, he was facing them both. He instantly sprung up flinging out his arms towards the sky like a circus performer in front of an audience awaiting applause and cheers. If Mimori were able to and if the circumstances had been different, she might have considered clapping, but at the moment…

Cougar lifted up his sunglasses and placed them on top of his orange head, his eyes focused only on her. "How's it going, Miss Minori?" he asked, grinning stupidly down at her.

…All she really wanted to do was slap him.

From deep within her, whispered a silky voice, _Why are you angry at Cougar? He's just doing his job after all._

_But that doesn't make it right! He lied about his feelings for me. He never wanted any sort of relationship with me. Just like Ryuhou. _"You lied to me," she said so softly that she didn't think he had heard her until she saw his smile falter and his eyes widen in comprehension.

He looked away from her refusing to meet her piercing gaze. "Miss Minori…I'm sorry," he apologized, ruffling his hair. Twins spot of red manifested themselves on either cheek.

Scheris glanced from her to Cougar and then back again, confused. Neither offering her an explanation.

Finally, she heard Scheris mutter half-heartedly, "Showoff." Just before she ran over to check on Ryuhou, leaving the two of them alone.

For once, she ignored his mispronunciation of her name as she rose shakily to her feet. "Mister Cougar, I was right, wasn't I? You have been following me. Why?" she asked. "Was this all Commander Zigmarl's ideal? Or, did my father—

Mimori broke off abruptly as another wave of pain crashed into her body, drenching it in a cold sweat. Faintly, she heard Cougar say something (her name, perhaps?), but her ears popping so loudly prevented her from hearing him, or anything for that matter. She lifted her injured wrist away from her chest, wincing at the sight. Her wrist was now swollen to the size of an orange and the skin around it had taken on a bluish black tint. Clenching her teeth, she fought back the acidic bile rising in her throat. Throwing up in front of everyone, _especially_ Ryuhou, was definitely a big no-no. She would rather die first than live with that embarrassment.

Suddenly, the exhaustion that had been building up over the past few days started to catch up with her. Her vision began to dim and she yawned. As the world faded to black, the last thing she recalled seeing was the ground tilting up to meet her. Unbalanced, her body swayed back and forth for an instant, just before her legs gave out once more.

But she never hit the ground.

Mimori waited and still, nothing happen. _"What the…?" _That's when she became aware of strong arms holding her up: one gripping her waist tightly from around her lower back and the other hooked beneath her knees. Still blinded, she could not tell who had her in his lap. _It had to be Cougar_, she told herself. No one could move that fast, not even Ryuhou.

Apparently sensing her inner confusion, Cougar decided to speak, "Miss Minori? Can you hear me?"

Licking her dry chapped lips, she answered automatically, "It's Mimori." She bit her lip hard enough to cause it to bleed, desperately forcing herself to remain awake. The nausea passed and her vision cleared enough so could make out Cougar's concerned face hovering inches above hers.Her heart began to race. He was so close to her that he could feel his hot breath on her face. Also, she could see his eye color wasn't normal like his hair.

Without thinking, she told him, "You've got green eyes. They're beautiful."

"H-Hey now," he said, sounding almost nervous. "Isn't that the man's line?" Before she could reply, he hoisted her up in his arms easily. "Do you think you can walk? It would be faster if I carried you and ran."

"Um…" she hesitated, thinking things over._His alter must allow him to manipulate the speed of his body as well as his vehicles. We could be at his car in less than five seconds probably. Maybe less. _Mimori's stomach flip-flopped at the thought, remembering his speed attack on Ryuhou. Nor could she could forget the countless times she had thrown up after riding with him. Hoping not to insult him, she offered him a weak smile. "If it's okay with you, I think I can walk."

A/N: This chapter was a lot longer than what I originally planned and not as much action as I had wanted, but there are more chapters to come with LOTS more action. Oh, yeah! You wouldn't believe how many times I had to revise this into something halfway readable. I also changed my style a little bit. The thoughts are in italics as well. Hopefully, you liked this chapter. But I won't know unless you push that little button. C'mon, pretty please.


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